SpaceX capsule heads to space station ferrying NASA crew and Russian

FILE PHOTO: Members of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission Nicole Aunapu Mann, Anna Kikina, Josh Cassada and Koichi Wakata pose as they arrive at the Kennedy Space Center to prepare for a launch scheduled for October 5 aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., October 1, 2022. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) -A SpaceX rocket soared into orbit from Florida on Wednesday carrying the next long-term International Space Station crew, with a Russian cosmonaut, two Americans and a Japanese astronaut flying together in a demonstration of U.S.-Russian teamwork in space despite Ukraine war tensions.

A high-ranking official of the Russian space agency Roscosmos said shortly after the launch that the flight marked "a new phase of our cooperation" with the U.S. space agency NASA.